The present invention relates to motor vehicles, and in particular, to auxiliary mounting devices for mounting spare tires on the exterior of automobiles.
Currently there is a class of automobile known as a utility vehicle that typically includes seating for five passengers along with an interior cargo bay in the rear of the vehicle. A typical utility vehicle has four wheel drive. The rear bench seat may be folded or removed to increase the length of the cargo bay. Because such a vehicle has no trunk the spare tire, comprising a tire mounted on a rim, must be stowed elsewhere. Usually there is insufficient room or clearance beneath the frame of the vehicle to stow the spare tire. In some models the spare tire is stored in the cargo bay adjacent the sidewall of the vehicle. This arrangement unnecessarily limits the usable cargo space. Also, the driver must manually lift the spare tire out of the cargo bay. Due to the significant size and weight of the spare tire, this can be a difficult task which can lead to back injuries. Because of this, auxiliary spare tire mounting brackets have been developed which mount to the exterior of one of the rear corners of the vehicle body. They can swing out to provide clearance for opening the tailgate. However, the driver must still lift the spare tire to the ground and lift the tire being replaced back to the mounting bracket.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,610,658 of Satori and 3,613,971 of Betz disclose a single rack pivotally connected to the bumper for supporting a spare tire. U.S. Pat. No. 3,669,326 of Podraza discloses a pivoting arm rotatable about a horizontal axis for supporting a spare tire. U.S. Pat. No. 4,418,851 of Ankeny discloses a pair of arms pivotally connected to each other and attached to the bumper and tailgate for pivoting a spare tire. U.S. Pat. No. 4,327,848 of Weiler discloses a pivoting channel member for supporting a spare tire. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,561,575 of Jones discloses an upright arm connected to a trailer hitch for supporting a spare tire.
None of the foregoing patented spare tire mounting systems is advantageously suited to the type of utility vehicle described above.